Introducing the Principal’s Council

We are delighted to initiate a Principal’s Council composed of this esteemed group of individuals committed to Cathedral High School. Serving as ambassadors to Cathedral and strategic advisors to Principal Maria Spagnuolo these dedicated alumnae and supporters are helping to further our mission and enhance our visibility. Through the guidance of the Principal’s Council we seek to expand Cathedral High School’s network and develop new relationships and collaborations. We look forward to working with them!

Lynda Baquero ‘83

Emmy-award winning Lynda Baquero is NBC 4 New York’s consumer reporter. Lynda’s “Better Get Baquero” segments resolve consumer complaints and provide updates on the latest consumer alerts. She is also host of the long-running series “Visiones” which highlights issues that affect the Hispanic community.

Baquero has been with NBC 4 in a variety of high profile positions and has filed reports both at home and abroad. The recipient of a 1998 local Emmy Award for “Religious Programming” for her coverage of the Pope’s visit to Cuba, Baquero also received a 2006 Emmy award for “Best Evening Newscast” with Chuck Scarborough. She was named one of El Diario La Prensa’s “Mujeres Destacadas” (Outstanding Women) and received the Consulate General of Israel’s “Woman of Valor” award.

Lynda was honored by New York University College of Arts and Sciences with their “Alumni Achievement” award and received the “Excellence in English Language Media” award from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors.

Dedicated to helping young people achieve their potential, Baquero is on the Board of Directors of Let’s Get Ready, a non-profit organization that serves the educational needs of NYC students and the Byram Hills Education Foundation which supports students in Westchester County.

Baquero is a graduate of New York University and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Journalism.

She delivered the 2013 Commencement Address at St. Patrick’s Cathedral for Cathedral High School. In citing her alma mater, she stated, “I’ve always admired the self-respect and poise that many Cathedralites possess. I believe that comes from the spirit of knowledge and faith taught by the staff. I believe wholeheartedly in supporting efforts to empower more young women with the kinds of qualities fostered at Cathedral High School.”

Ursula M. Burns ‘76

Ursula Burns is a Senior Advisor of Teneo Ltd., Retired Chairman and CEO of VEON Ltd., and a Retired Chairman and CEO of Xerox, where she became the first African-American to head a Fortune 500 company.

A strong advocate for gender and racial diversity, Ursula continually breaks down barriers for generations of women leaders. She is a board director of Exxon Mobil, Nestlé, and Uber and regularly appears on the Fortune and Forbes lists of the world’s most powerful women.

President Barack Obama appointed her to help lead the White House national STEM program from 2009-2016 and she served as Chair of the President’s Export Council from 2015-2016 after having served as Vice Chair from 2010-2015.

She provides leadership counsel to several community, educational and non-profit organizations including the Ford Foundation, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Corporation, Cornell Tech Board of Overseers, the New York City Ballet, and the Mayo Clinic.

A member of the National Academy of Engineering, The Royal Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Ursula holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Polytechnic Institute of New York University.

She is inspirational as a role model to Cathedral students. Ursula cites her mother’s focus on education as laying the foundation for her success and her extraordinary rise in the business world. She was the honoree at Cathedral’s 110th Anniversary Gala in 2016 and is a generous supporter of student scholarships. We are honored that the Ursula M. Burns MakerSpace, on our 3rd floor, is host to Cathedral’s innovative STEM program.

Thomas W. Crawford

Thomas W. Crawford was a Partner at KPMG in NYC from 1981 to 2009. During that time, he served as the Area Managing Partner for Tax for NYC and the Northeast as well as other leadership positions. Tom had various client responsibilities as lead tax partner and global tax partner on several major international clients of the Firm. After retiring from KPMG, he was the CFO and head of tax at  Berggruen Holdings, a family office in NYC with various direct holdings in the US and globally for 5 years. In 2015 Tom and his wife, Diana, moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to be near his 3 daughters and their families. Since 2016 Tom has been the VP of Tax at Hillspire LLC, a family office in the Bay Area.
Tom is a CPA in California and previously in NY and has an MBA with distinction in Taxation from Pace University and has a B.S. in Accounting and Economics from Iowa State University.
Tom was the Treasurer and a member of the board at Cathedral High School from 2008 to 2015. Over the years, he and his daughters, who were working in NYC at the time, sponsored Women in Business seminars and personal health activities for the Cathedral students.

Sr. Margaret T. Egan ’56

Sister Margaret Egan, SC, Ed.D. is a member of the leadership governance of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul of New York. Prior to that, she served as elementary/middle school teacher, then as Professor of Teacher Education and  Vice-President for Student Development at the College of Mount St. Vincent. During her time as Chair of Teacher Education she developed the Master’s Program in Education and enrolled the department in the National Honor Society in Education.

She was President of the New York State Colleges for Teacher Education and received the Teacher of the Year Award from the New York State Association of Teacher Educators.
After serving on the Cathedral High School Board of Trustees for 10 years, Sr. Margaret presently serves on the Board of the Sisters of Charity and St. Joseph Hospital, Yonkers. More importantly, Sr. Margaret is an alumna of Cathedral High School.

Maria-Cecilia Salazar ‘87

Maria Cecilia Salazar, ’87 CHS alum, has over thirty years of experience in the financial services industry. Her career in finance started out thanks to a Junior Achievement program during senior year at Cathedral High School which led to an internship at the IBM Metro Employees Federal Credit Union, where she remained a part-time employee for several years while continuing her education.

In the following years, she completed an associate’s degree from The Wood School and a Bachelor of Science in applied mathematics from the City College of New York.

Despite her interest in math, science and English at Cathedral and several changes of majors, the time at IBM Metro made her realize she wanted to remain in the financial services industry, working with people instead of numbers and building client relationships.

Upon graduation from CCNY, she began her career at The Bank of New York and also attended The Lubin School of Business at Pace University where she received an MBA in Financial Economics. Since then, she has worked at Standard & Poor’s as an index market analyst and during the last seventeen years has been at J.P. Morgan, where she is currently the head of relationship management for Latin American corporate clients for a division called American Depositary Receipts.

Glenn Shannon

Glenn Shannon is a vice chairman of Shorenstein Properties LLC, a privately-owned company headquartered in San Francisco that owns office buildings and multifamily properties located in major U.S. metropolitan areas.

Glenn is a member of the Urban Land Institute and Lambda Alpha International, a member of  The Real Estate Roundtable, and co-chairs The Real Estate Roundtable Political Action Committee (REALPAC). He serves on the Real Assets Advisory Committee for the Williams College Investment Office, the Advisory Board for Kinship Capital and for Carmel Partners, on the investment committee for Wind River Trust Company, and as an independent non-executive director for The Addax and Oryx Group LLC.

Glenn is the chair of the Ambassador Council of Aim High, a tuition-free summer school program for middle school students in underserved Bay Area communities, and the vice chair of the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), an organization that advocates for and supports individuals and families affected by eating disorders.

He graduated from Williams College with a B.A., and from University of Michigan Law School with a J.D. A long-time contributor to Cathedral and sponsor of student scholarships, Glenn is one of 5 children of Edna Marie Rasmussen Shannon ’44, whose classmates named her  “the golden lass of our class”. Glenn and his family support Cathedral as a way to honor Edna, who passed away in 2015 and firmly believed that her time at Cathedral changed the trajectory of her life.

Debra De Jesus-Vizzi, MSW, LCSW ‘81

Debra has dedicated her life and work to helping those in need. A thought leader and changemaker for child welfare, education, and poverty, her passion and drive come from her personal experience as a foster child in New York City and the capable adults who changed the trajectory of her life in much the same way she aims to support vulnerable youth today.

She has come full circle and is now Executive Director of Student Sponsor Partners, an organization that impacted her by providing the opportunity to attend Cathedral High School and have a supportive mentor.

Prior to joining Student Sponsor Partners, she served as President and CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, the largest anti-hunger and anti-poverty organization in the state. Debra received the 2015 New Jersey Humanitarian Award from CASA of Monmouth County and a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the State University College at Buffalo, and she was a finalist for the 2015 Smart CEO: Deals of Distinction Award.

She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and received her Master of Social Work from Rutgers University and her bachelor’s degree from the State University College at Buffalo. She is completing her doctoral studies in Social Work at the University of Southern California. Debra was the commencement speaker at the Class of 2020 graduation at St. Patrick’s Church this summer.

Philip Jay Wilker

Effective December 31, 2020, Jay resigned from the Cathedral Board of Trustees, having served on the Board from its inception, including seven years as Chairman of the Board. He is honored to be able to continue his connection to Cathedral by serving on the Principal’s Council.

Jay had a nearly 50-year career as a commercial lawyer in New York City specializing in complex commercial litigation and arbitration. He was a partner in several prominent law firms before founding his own firm specializing in reinsurance issues. He also was Counsel to the Hon. Melvin Schweitzer, Supreme Court Justice in the Commercial Division in Manhattan.

Jay first became acquainted with Cathedral when recruited by Peg Kiely to be the school’s mock trial coach. He also taught classes in Constitutional Law as an adjunct in Peg’s litigation course. He came to love the school and its students. He has always been impressed by how kind the Cathedral girls are to one another, and their gratitude, enthusiasm and sense that they can accomplish anything they want in life.

Jay is a graduate of Fordham Prep (1962), College (1966) and Law School (1969). He served as a Captain in the US Marine Corps (JAG Corp) before returning to New York to start his career as a commercial lawyer.

---

Open A World of Possiblities for Tomorrow's Leaders

Contribute To Cathedral Today!

Learn More & Donate